A modern off-grid villa with Chinese/Taoist architectural elements on 2 ha of land in rural mountainous area near Lorca in the province of Murcia

Location:

In south-eastern Spain, in Los Jarales, a part of the municipality of Lorca; it is situated at half an hour driving from the city of Lorca in the province of Murcia, near the Andalucian border. Murcia International Airport (Corvera) can be reached within approximately an hour and Alicante airport is approximately a 1 hour and 45 min drive. Supermarkets, bakery, primary schools are in the nearest village La Parroquia or Puerto Lumbreras and Lorca offers many shops and a big shopping mall where there is also Leroy-Merlin, Carrefour and many other shops, restaurants, farmacies, etc. Lorca has an old centre with beautiful architecture. The nearest beach at Aguilas can be reached within an hour by car. The highest mountains, the Sierra Maria (reaching more than 2,000 meters) are near. In the winter and spring there is sometimes snow on the tops. The other high mountain range, the Sierra Espuna, is at an hour's drive and the Sierra Nevada is a 2 hours drive away. The closest are the Gigantes, a mountain range with among its peaks the spectacular table mountain “La Muela Grande”. Other sierras can also be admired from the house and terraces. There are a lot of beautiful villages and towns in the surroundings and a dam with water reservoir is also nearby. Towns like Velez Rubio, Velez Blanco, Maria, Mojacar, Mazarron, and Cartagena (with its Roman theatre) and Aguilas are actually quite close and very nice to visit with opportunities to eat out at very affordable prices.

Description:

In a large natural area with almond and olive groves and pine tree woods you find a small village-like terrain with several houses on a fair distance from one another. This place lies in a very special geological location (university students come here to do soil investigation). You will see yellow, reddish brown soil, and grey limestone soil. The reddish brown soil resembles the African continent's soil and the yellow is from the European continent. Subjects for great pictures abound. And the silence can be overwhelming ...pure silence at night and in the mornings. The main house was intended as a Taoist Retreat and school and was built on a mountain (approx 650 mtrs high) in 2012 and the extension was built in 2016. With its reddish and yellow exterior colours it blends in perfectly with its surrounding. When you arrive at the house the WOW factor is immediately there, with stunning 360 degrees mountain views. In all seasons the scenery never gets boring. No other house in this area or in these surroundings has these fantastic views and the Chinese features make it truly exceptional. It is very easy to maintain. There is room enough to build extensions (in all you can build up to 500 square meters), and extra terraces or other features, such as an extra carport.

The residence:

Built on a mountain rock in 2012, the house was designed by the current owner and his late wife. The floorplan is well thought through and the space is optimally used. This house has a story to tell. The measurements are symbolic and based on Taoist views of the stars and the constellations: the main house has a surface of 108 square meters, the annex has a surface of 36 square meters but on two levels, making 72 square meters. The number 36 refers to 36 Heavenly star deities, whereas 72 refers to Earthly ones. Together they make 108, to which the surface of the main house refers. The main house has big double glass windows, so you can fully enjoy the wonderful views/sky (also at night). The house is called “Casa Los Alquimistas” in Spanish (The Alchemists' House) and “Wuji Shanzhai” in Chinese (Limitless Mountain Studio), referring to Chinese Taoist Alchemy, the highest form of Taoist practice, which aims at longevity and spiritual development. There are two golden dragons painted over the entrance of the house. They are playing with a flaming golden pearl referring to the golden elixir of longevity. These Chinese elements can all be changed or removed very easily at no large costs.

Coming in the main house, there is on the right hand side a toilet room with tasteful details and a small storage room, where the electrical fuse box is situated. On your left is the brown/black wood modern Italian design kitchen with a built-in oven, washing machine, refrigerator and freezer, dishwasher, ceramic hob, extractor hood, and big storage cabinets. Kitchen appliances are all from the Bosch brand. The big round window is an eyecather that offers beautiful views of the terrace, skies, and surroundings. Again, there is a Taoist cosmological idea behind it: it represents the heaven (traditionally thought of as circular) and the square plunge pool that you can see from it represents the earth (seen as square) and we humans live in between (Macrocosm and the human Microcosm). Further to the right you see the large, spacious and tasteful living room with a woodburner of 14 kW, capable of heating the whole house in winter. On sunny winter days the big windows make the room quite warm soon and then you only need the burner in the morning and evening. There is a stock of wood for the wood burner that can last for at least 2 years. The big window (3 x 2 mtrs) on the left is sliding, meaning it slides into the wall, and gives out to the large terrace and plunge pool and connects the outside with the inside. On the opposite side is a fixed window (also 3 x 2 mtrs). The floor is of travertine ceramic tiles and the living room has a built-in storage as well.

Internet and a landline phone are available for free: the owner has a deal with the internet supplier to supply electricity to the internet-antenna on the top of the mountain and there is a small antenna to bounce the internet on the roof of the main house (with its own backup battery) to bounce the internet to the other houses of the area. Furthermore the internet supplier pays the owner € 100,- a month for the electricity, which provides a nice financial extra. The antenna on the mountain has a lightning rod as protection. On the roof there is a hot water solar boiler (200 liters), connected to the electricity for when there is less sun. There are no electricity costs because of the solar installation.

The living room has the biggest WOW factor of the house! In the morning you can sometimes see mountain goats standing in front of your window eating small weeds; the eagle regularly soars above the terrace and sometimes lands on the roof; other birds like the pygmy owl, the cuckoo and the oriole are also frequent visitors, and from time to time a fox passes by. For those who like aircraft, a low-flying practicing fighter jet from the air force might fly by at eye height, but that's very rare. Spectacular to see it sure is. The main house has two spacious bedrooms with each a bathroom with shower and sink; in the guest bedroom there is a bathroom with possibilities to connect an extra toilet and bidet to sewage and water and there is also an extra built-in storage. In the main bedroom the toilet and bidet are installed and there is also a big wardrobe with big mirror doors. The two bedrooms both have a sliding door that can be locked from the inside and also two glass sliding doors, so you can either see the sunrise or the sunset. In the walk-through between the bedrooms and living room is also room for storage and room for the garbage bin, etc. Every room in the main house has air-conditioning.

The extension:

On the main floor there is a big storage room of 36 m2. Here the equipment and batteries of the solar installation are situated (it can deliver up to 5 kW power); there are 12 gel batteries, which do not need any maintenance and allow for several days of electricity supply on those rare occasions that the weather is not sunny. There is a hot water boiler (100 litres) installed and an extra water tap.
The second floor is a studio with shower, bidet, sink, toilet and connections for a small kitchen (not installed). The pictures say it all … The big square window offers amazing views of the surrounding mountains and you can see the white village of Velez Blanco and its old castle. This room has its own fuse/electricity box and on the roof are the 12 solar panels that provide the electricity for the main house and the extension.

Outside:

The nature is the garden, no need to maintain the garden... It goes its own way. Enjoy the wild herbs (thyme, lavender, juniper, …), the olives on the single olive tree, and the wild flowers. Or create your own garden, as some of the neighbours did. There is a large terrace behind the main house with a plunge pool that has a bench and stairs. And there are two outside natural stone benches, one on the north side of the house and one on the terrace. Also outside are an outdoor shower, hidden septic tanks and a (10,000 liters) water deposit, and the swimming pool pump housing. A call or whatsapp message is enough for the water supplier to deliver the water to your door.

Measurements:

Main house: 108 m2
Living room incl. Kitchen: 53,77 m2
Guest bedroom: 10,37 m2
Main bedroom: 12,20 m2
Toilet incl. Storage room: 2,69 m2
Bathroom guest bedroom: 5,15 m2
Bathroom main bedroom: 5,15 m2

Extension: 72 m2
Studio: 36 m2
Storage: 36 m2

Plot: approx 20.000 m2 (2ha)
Terrace: approx 220 m2
Plunge pool: 3 x 3 mtrs (there is a permission for a pool of 3 x 9 mtrs so it can be extended legaly)
There is a gate and a fence to seal the entrance and part of the plot of the house; there is a natural barrier around the terrace (the hillside).
Water deposit: 10,000 litres (with a water pump in its separate housing).
The house has a recent alarm system (2023) with cameras and motion sensors, which can be controlled on your mobile phone.